Blue and white is always a nice color combination, whether observed in a wintry landscape, a fluffy Summer sky or a West German Modernist bud vase. This dappled beauty was made in the Sixties or Seventies by Jopeko.
The company was founded in 1848 as Krug und Abflussrohr Fabrik (Pitcher and Drainpipe Factory) in 1848 by Johan Peter Korzilius. Initially, they made ceramic industrial containers and sewer pipes in Ransbach-Baumbach, a recognized center of the Prussian (and later, German) ceramics industry (half-way between Frankfurt and Köln). After World War Two, they renamed their company after the founder (Jo-Pe-Ko) and turned their attention to the growing home decor segment of the ceramics industry. Heinz Martin came aboard as chief designer during the Sixties—the height of the Mid-Century Modernist trend. This was the period when the bud vase, shown above, was made. Click on the photo above to learn more about it.
As the post-war decades ticked-by, and German labor became increasingly expensive, Jopeko, (like many Western potteries) had difficulty competing with Asian makers. Jopeko discontinued its consumer-oriented, mass production approach to business. They began producing (once again) more industrial, commercial products like electrical switch plates, acoustic tiles, and ceramic light fixture bases. Simultaneously, they began to open their factory to smaller art ceramics workshops (who could not afford such large scale equipment) to process limited runs of studio ceramics (more "artful" and expensive). After all, Ransbach-Baumbach was (and still is) a center of ceramics manufacturing in Germany. This adaptation was critical to preserving the German artistic ceramics trade and it allowed Jopeko to survive without having to compete in a futile, relocated industry.
Click on the photo above to learn more about this handsome bud vase.
Though our Greenwich Village store is now permanently closed, LEO Design is still alive and well! Please visit our on-line store where we continue to sell Handsome Gifts (www.LEOdesignNYC.com).
To arrange a visit our Pittsburgh showroom (by private appointment only), please call 917-446-4248.